Since I never got around to posting about last week’s assigned reading…. this week you get a double feature. (Book images are links. I’m an Amazon affiliate. Enjoy.)

First of all, I knew I had picked the right writing book for me, when I hit this quote on page 1 of WIlliam Kenower’s Fearless Writing: “You gotta leave room for the magic.” I know, I know, a lot of craft books talk about writing as a form of magic, but I wasn’t expecting it, and and after putting off my work-reading because #procrastination, it was a nice confirmation that I was in the right place. Tons of good stuff about getting into the Flow (which reminded me of Heather Demetrios’s newsletter), learning from experience, and having faith in yourself. As Stephen Merchant tells himself in The Outlaws, “You can’t jump out of the plane without jumping out of the plane.”

Some other quotes that I highlighted:

• With practice you can find that confidence regularly (4)
• Only experience can teach (5).
• In the end I must go to my workroom alone and choose every word… I am still the one choosing (8).
• The Flow (Rules)
  • Willingness to be surprised
  • Trust where it will take you
  • Don’t worry about the past or future
  • Exert no effort
  • There is no right and wrong
  • I must not care what anyone else thinks about what I have written
• You must have faith that it exists where you are out of it (25).
• It’s there because it’s you (25).

The intro to Temperance Alden’s Year of the Witch has a similar message, reminding the reader that “there are no rules except the ones we set for ourselves” (xii). Alden defines intuition, as distinguished from instinct, and encourages readers to start where they are. Since everything works on a cycle, from the year, to hormones, seasons, climate, and astrology, it doesn’t matter where you start.

I’m starting with Mabon, since today is the equinox. According to the author, it is a lesser harvest festival named for the Welsh lord of light. We celebrate the fruits of our labor with many of the same activities and foods as the mainstream culture. #welcomefall In particular, this holiday is often recognized with apples, which, if you’ve seen my other social media accounts, I’ve been harvesting in abundance this year. (Yay universal convergence!)